Bishop McDevitt High School in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, has been criticized by students and parents following an assignment in a criminal justice class, as reported by Action News on 6abc.
Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter by a unanimous jury on April 20 this year.
One of the questions students were asked was: “It is said that the death of George Floyd was due to the amount of drugs in his system that then affected his heart. The cop Derek Chauvin aggravated the issue by putting a knee on Floyd’s neck.
“Should Chauvin have been charged with murder if he did not directly kill him? Why or Why not. Must explain in at least 5 sentences.”
Fentanyl and methamphetamine were found in Floyd’s system during the autopsy, and the defense argued this had been a contributing factor in his death. The prosecution strongly rejected the claim.
Another question from the assignment asked: “Chauvin did not follow protocol and had a knee on Floyd’s neck for way longer than necessary. Floyd was resisting arrest, so why is Chauvin still considered breaking the law through negligence? Explain. If you don’t know what negligence is then look up the word.”
Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck for 9 and a half minutes. Prosecutors successfully argued that this was the reason for Floyd’s death.
Several students were reportedly upset about the assignment and the family of one of them spoke to 6abc. That student was not willing to be interviewed due to fear of repercussions but wrote to the teacher in an email, saying, in part: “I am uncomfortable reading, let alone answering, the questions provided.”
“The teacher came back with a response, ‘I’m sorry you feel that way. I guess you’ll take a zero.’ That’s when I stepped in,” a relative of the student said.
“It was just questions about the teacher’s opinions,” the student’s stepmother told 6abc.
Bishop McDevitt High School is a Roman Catholic “college preparatory” school located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia issued a statement saying they had apologized to the parents and students involved.
“School administration immediately communicated with those families after reviewing the assignment in question to apologize and discuss a plan of action moving forward to address the concerns. Those families with whom school administration was in contact expressed that they were pleased with the planned solution,” the statement said.
Students who didn’t want to do the assignment have now been given an alternative. The teacher involved has not been named and the school has not said whether they will face any disciplinary action.
Bishop McDevitt High School is set to close at the end of the school year.
Newsweek has asked Bishop McDevitt High School and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for comment on this article.
